“I'm a multitasker. I can listen, ignore, and forget all at the same time!” We won’t, however, soon forget this part of the business cycle. “Rob, thank you for all your help placing ads for Ops staff for us. With the ‘Work from Home’ movement, and cutbacks, we don’t need all of this office furniture. Would you run an ad to sell it?” First off, I told the person that no, I wouldn’t. But more importantly, this well-known lender is experiencing what many lenders are, which is that cutting back can be just as difficult, if not harder, than expanding. We all knew that “refi burnout” would happen, but the speed at which mortgage rates have moved higher cutting refis, and purchase business not filling the void, surprised many. Originators have changed their tactics; Todd Duncan, renowned mortgage sales and training expert, will be discussing how LOs can adapt to this environment on The Rundown with Rich & Rob Friday at 3PM ET (anyone can register for this free event). Speaking of rates, traders will pore over the minutes from the last FOMC meeting as they assess the trajectory of interest rate increases. The Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates, but the same factors that influence the Fed move other rates as well, and most expect the Fed to deliver another 75-point rate hike at the July meeting, followed by a 50-point increase in September. Following that, forecasts are for more traditional 25-point increments. (Today’s podcast is available here and this week’s is sponsored by Real Estate Connection (REC), a boutique real estate brokerage that acts as a centralized and organized, fully-managed real estate fulfillment service, connecting buyers with local qualified Real Estate Agents and walking them through the entire home purchase and selling process with the lender partner.)
Lender and Broker Products
Broker AdvantEDGE from Sprout Mortgage turbocharges broker growth with a trifecta of advantages. Speed up with iQualifi to instantly access product and pricing answers in real time so you can help more clients faster, with no app or loan file required. With iAnalyze, put AI to work to analyze income from up to 2 years of bank statements in under 1 hour. With iValuator, seamlessly manage your entire appraisal process. These applications, as part of Sprout’s ever-growing suite of technology tools, help brokers to serve the unique needs of clients with speed, accuracy, and ease. Learn more today!
“The Lakeview Correspondent team offers correspondent lenders the best of all worlds: Non-Agency and Agency programs, Jumbo and Conforming loans amounts, Delegated and Non-Delegated underwriting, Best Efforts and Mandatory execution, and Flow and Bulk delivery. Most importantly, We can support your growth in this changing market with a full slate of product trainings. Click Here for the July training calendar. And remember to try our Non-Agency product eligibility tool powered by LoanNex.”
Opteon, a leading international provider of valuation, advisory, and property services, has announced its acquisition of Northeastern Appraisal Associates Residential (NEA), a Buffalo, New York-based appraisal management company (AMC) and staff appraisal firm. This partnership expands Opteon’s presence in the Northeast, strengthening its nationwide service offerings and faster turn times in the fourth largest US real estate market. Opteon has experienced substantial growth since the company’s expansion into the US in 2019 and is one of the fastest-growing nationwide appraisal firms. This is the fifth acquisition Opteon has made in the last 12 months. Through these strategic acquisitions, Opteon has built a robust national Staff Appraiser model, allowing Opteon to utilize innovative technology to deliver drastically shorter turn times across the US. Read More Here.
As the market moves to a purchase cycle, lenders are fighting to win the business of frugal rate shoppers without making price exceptions that cut into margins. By leveraging the combined powers of Sales Boomerang’s borrower intelligence alerts and Mortgage Coach’s interactive loan comparisons, NEO Home Loans won the business and loyalty of a rate shopper who had already received a lower quote from a larger bank. What’s more, NEO Home Loans saw nearly 70 percent conversion on applications and more than $10.7 million in additional closed loan volume in just one quarter using the borrower retention and conversion duo. Need to see it to believe it? Look no further.
Looking to significantly reduce or eliminate your cost for appraisal fulfillment without giving up control over the process? Work with a team that is supported by advanced technology that gives you every benefit of an appraisal desk without having to absorb any of the costs associated with one. A new solution that gives originators the speed and quality they demand in today’s environment without sacrificing the control any lender would desire. Click here to learn more.
Events, Training, and Webinars
Make no mistake: 101 courses aren’t just for college freshmen. In fact, mortgage lenders of all experience levels can benefit from Optimal Blue’s upcoming webinar, Hedging 101: The Benefits of Mandatory Delivery. On Thursday, July 14, at noon ET, pipeline hedging experts Mark Teteris, CMB, and Jeff McCarty will walk attendees through the theories behind hedging practices, various hedging vehicles, and strategies to employ during market fluctuations. Whether you’re just entertaining the idea of transitioning to mandatory delivery, or you’re already a hedging veteran, you won’t want to miss this informative and directional webinar. Save your seat today.
Free webinar: Maxwell & TMC present “2H 2022 Outlook: Managing Rising Rates, Declining Volume & the Possible Recession Ahead” on Thursday, 7/14 @ 4PM ET. Forecasts for the remainder of 2022 paint a challenging picture for the mortgage industry. The MBA has revised its projections down as interest rates rise and volume drops. For lenders, it’s time to act on those forecasts, making strategy revisions to capitalize on changing market opportunities and to meet business objectives for 2022. Mortgage solutions provider Maxwell is teaming up with TMC to dig into where the biggest challenges lie in the remainder of the year, how lenders should allocate spend to bolster their bottom lines, and areas of opportunity that still exist in today’s challenging market. Don’t miss out! Join our panel of experts, including former Docutech CEO Amy Brandt, Richey May Director of Consulting Services Seth Sprague, and members of Maxwell leadership. Click here to register for this free webinar today!
Join Nancy Obando, SVP of Mountain West Financial and learn about a fantastic option for California First-Time Homebuyers, CalHFA's Forgivable Equity Builder Loan. This loan offers a huge bump to the down payment that will be 100 percent forgiven within the first 5 years of owning the home. Register for MWF’s CalHFA Equity Training, Thursday, July 7th from 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. (PST). Program features include receipt of up to 10 percent of the purchase price or appraised value, Amount is fully forgiven after 5 years (Must be the primary residence for those 5 years. 20 percent forgiven annually), FICO scores as low as 640 (FHA, Conventional, & Manufactured Home options).
This Friday at noon PT is the next edition of The Mortgage Collaborative’s Rundown with Rich and Rob. We’ll will be covering current events in the mortgage market for 45 minutes starting at noon PT in “The Rundown with Rich and Rob” featuring Todd Duncan as co-host!
NRMLA will be at its 2022 Eastern Regional Meeting in Baltimore, MD, July 11-12. This event will assist you with being innovative, informative, and intentional with 1.5 days of planned sessions.
October Research has partnered with Garris Horn LLP Co-Managing Partner Richard Horn and Bailey Helms Legal LLC Managing Member Deborah Bailey to offer the complimentary CFPB Update webinar July 12. Together they will provide insights on the Bureau’s fair lending and redlining guidance as well as its efforts to: review the QM rule, address junk fees and UDAAP, its participation in global initiatives, the shift in its enforcement to individuals and companies, potential RESPA enforcement activity and much more.
FHA’s final webinar in its four-part series, Dispelling Homebuying Myths: Tips for Buying Your First Home, is now available. The webinar series reveals the truth about common myths associated with using an FHA-insured loan to purchase a home and is available on the Single Family Housing Events and Training webpage on HUD.gov. Additional topics previously released in the series include Qualifying for a Loan, Affording a Home, and Finding the Right Home.
Improving equitable access to homeownership for all Californians, Mountain West Financials’ latest product offering, CalHFA's Forgivable Equity Builder Loan, does just that. Learn more on July 7th, register for CalHFA Equity Training, presented by MWF's Nancy Obando, Sr. Vice President at Mountain West Financial Inc.
Join Patty Wills, CRMP, and Charith Rodrigo of Open Mortgage and Melinda Hipp, CRMP, of Mutual of Omaha Mortgage at NRMLA’s Eastern Regional Meeting in Baltimore, July 11-12, as they share tips for how they work with their borrowers to make them reverse mortgage converts (and future referral sources).
Increase your understanding of the Secondary Markets to better navigate market volatility. Join MMBBA on July 13th at 10:00 for a Secondary training focused on the loan sale process with Cody Gaertner, Secondary Marketing/Lock Desk Manager at Presidential Bank.
Margin compression is here, and Snapdocs is ready to help. Join Snapdocs and leading lenders on Thursday, July 28th at 10AM PT for a discussion on the recent market shift and how Snapdocs has increased cost savings.
A&D Mortgage offers FREE webinars every Tuesday at 1 PM EST. July's Upcoming Events include the following topics: July 12 (Q&A with Broker Support answering questions on how to work with A&D’s technology), July 19 (Demo and Q&A on designing professional marketing materials with AD Studio), and July 26 (Overview of A&D Mortgage's Non-QM loan products).
loanDepot Wholesale offers training on a range of topics, July offerings include trainings on mello® Broker Portal, Advantage Express FLEX Overview, Renovation Training, and Non-Warrantable Condos Overview. Visit the LDW Training Calendar to register for upcoming training session.
The private mortgage insurance companies offer a fine range of very cost-effective/free training: National MI University, Enact’s course catalog of on-demand webinars, MGIC, Essent, Radian, and Arch MI.
On-Demand Webinar: Top Issues on Mortgage Compliance and What You Need to Know. In ACES Quality Management’s QC Now web series, experts share insights and tips to help quality control professionals stay informed of industry changes. Topics covered include fair lending focus, including redlining, digital redlining, and appraisal bias, CFPB RFI on Junk Fees, CFPB Supervisory Highlights, and mortgage servicing specific 2022 compliance expectations. Watch today!
PRMG University TPO July Training Calendar has Manufactured Home requirements, PRMG's non-QM Expanded Access product, and non-QM Investor Solution product. View PRMG’s complete Training Calendar.
Capital Markets
We’ve seen a decline in rates as traders have brought forward bets about a U.S. economic contraction. The holiday-shortened week opened with the fourth straight day of rallying prices in the bond market as anticipation is now for a total Fed about-face in 2023, including rate reductions. Economic data yesterday showed factory orders for manufactured goods increased 1.6 percent month-over-month in May, much stronger than expected. Order activity, however, is set to weaken in the coming months as global economic activity slows.
Even though rates have declined slightly as of late, we saw this morning that mortgage applications decreased 5.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from MBA. The figures halt three consecutive weeks of increases. Later this morning brings S&P Global non-manufacturing PMI, ISM non-manufacturing PMI, and remarks from New York Fed President Williams. The afternoon sees the minutes from the June14/15 FOMC meeting released, and the NY Fed Desk will purchase up to $531 million GNII 4 percent through 5 percent MBS using money from early payoffs. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices better by .250 and the 10-year yielding 2.76 after closing yesterday at 2.81 percent on continued gloomy thoughts about world economies.
Jobs and Transitions
The Washington Post recognizes Intercoastal Mortgage, LLC as a “Top Place to Work.” Intercoastal Mortgage was founded in 1987 and has ranked among the top mortgage lenders in the greater Washington DC area for the past three decades and closed over $5.6 billion in volume in 2021. "Intercoastal Mortgage has a long tradition of success defined by the fact that we are built by top producers for top producers and this award recognizes the great people and culture that are thriving in our environment” said Josh Burruss, EVP, Chief Lending Officer “We have established a culture that is focused on creating a world class customer experience and providing mortgage professionals with the operational structure they need to find success and take their business to the next level regardless of market conditions" Intercoastal Mortgage, LLC NMLS #56323 is an equal housing lender. For more information, contact Josh Burruss (703-727-4239).
AnnieMac Home Mortgage is excited to announce it is acquiring Virginia-based mortgage provider OVM Financial to expand its presence in the mid-Atlantic U.S. “OVM is an incredibly talented team, and we are thrilled to be adding them to the AnnieMac platform,” said President Ryan Kube. “In a rising rate environment, growth, scale, and culture are more important than ever. OVM brings that to AnnieMac in spades.” OVM Financial is a $1.7 billion purchase focused mortgage originator with over 220 employees, headquartered in Virginia Beach. All four owners as well as CEO Adam Newman, VP of Sales Brian Hill, amongst others will take on active leadership roles at AnnieMac. AnnieMac was advised on the transaction by Sterling Point Advisors, an M&A advisory firm based in Richmond, Virginia, with legal counsel provided by Johnston Thomas PC and Morritt Hock LLP.
“M&T Bank recently merged with Peoples United Bank, making it a combined $200 billion banking franchise serving customers from Virginia to Maine. We are looking to expand our origination team across the footprint, with emphasis on the New England market. Originators enjoy a robust and competitively priced product suite including traditional agency product, plus jumbo, HELOC, construction, and affordable lending programs. In addition to self-source, originators are integral to our community-based partnership model and leverage our 1,000+ branches for business generation. We’re also looking for top mortgage technologists to help us continue to focus on providing a great digital experience for customers and employees. Now is a great time to join our 22,000 strong team a make a career with a bank that understands what’s important. Contact Rico Tempestoso for more details. M&T Bank Corporation is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, including disabilities and veterans. Member FDIC. NMLS ID# 381076.”
“Partners United Financial, a part of the Newrez Family of Companies, offers an elevated home loan experience for borrowers along with unmatched growth opportunities for senior loan officers and area sales managers. With us, you can expect quick turn times, state-of-the-art technology, an experienced team, and a new leader laying out the foundation for loan officers to build out their pipelines. “I am very excited to welcome Bob Shield, as our new President to Partners United Financial,” says Chris Derrow, Divisional Manager for Newrez’s Joint Venture channel. Derrow continues, “Bob’s vast experience as a Retail and JV operator will serve our team members very well.” Are you an equally ambitious mortgage pro looking to reach new heights? Apply to become a senior loan officer or area sales manager in Tulsa/Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Madison, Wisconsin, Los Angeles, California, Bentonville, Arkansas, and Huntsville, Alabama. Or for more information, contact recruiting@newrez.com or Robert Shield today!”
Congratulations to John E. Bell III who is the new Executive Director at VA’s Loan Guaranty Service. (Bell also serves as 2022 Chairman of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) Government Forum.)
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